Short Kent
S.17 Kent | |
---|---|
Role | Biplane flying boat airliner |
Manufacturer | Short Brothers |
First flight | 24 February 1931 |
Introduction | 1931 |
Retired | 1938 |
Primary user | Imperial Airways |
Produced | 1930-1931 |
Number built | 3 |
Developed from | Short Calcutta
|
Variants | Short Scylla |
The Short S.17 Kent was a British four-engined 15-seat biplane luxury
Three aircraft were built, each receiving its own name: Scipio, Sylvanus and Satyrus; they were referred to collectively within Imperial Airlines as the Scipio Class flying boats. Each had an aircrew of three (two pilots and a radio operator/navigator) and a steward to prepare meals and light refreshments for the passengers.
Design and development
The wings were constructed using corrugated
The
A quick-release hook (controlled by the pilots) was provided, which enabled the captain to start, warm up and (when required) run all four engines up to full power for takeoff while the aircraft was still attached to the mooring buoy.
Maximum comfort was required for passengers and crew: the Kent's passenger cabin was 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) wide and 14 ft (4.27 m) long. The seating was arranged in four rows of facing pairs, with a centre aisle, Pullman-style. The steward's pantry, situated on the port side aft of the passenger cabin, was equipped with twin-burner oil stoves on which stewards (and the valets of valued passengers) could cook meals in flight. The toilet and washroom were opposite the pantry; the mail and freight compartment was further aft.
Special attention was paid to sound levels in the passenger cabin and crew's stations; accordingly the engines were fitted with exhaust collector rings and long tailpipes, to reduce exhaust noise inside the hull.
The cockpit, for two pilots, was fully enclosed (unlike that of the Calcutta's) with a separate Radio Officer's station directly aft of the cockpit.
Service history
In October 1930, Short Brothers started building the first of the three S.17 Kent flying boats (G-ABFA, named Scipio). It was launched and flown on 24 February 1931 by Shorts' Chief Test Pilot J. Lankester Parker and was in service in the Mediterranean in May of that year. The second (G-ABFB, named Sylvanus) was launched on 31 March 1931; the third Kent (G-ABFC, Satyrus) was launched on 30 April 1931 and flown for the first time on 2 May 1931.[5]
Imperial Airways used the Kent aircraft on the Mediterranean stages of its routes to India and beyond, also using them to survey planned routes to South Africa and Australia.[6]
On 22 August 1936 "Scipio", on its way back from India, flipped over and sank in "
In 1933 Imperial Airways placed an order for two landplanes based on the Kent; known initially as the S.17/L and later as the L.17, these became the Short Scylla, of which two were built and given the names "Scylla" and "Syrinx".
Operators
Specifications
Data from British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972 [11]
General characteristics
- Crew: three[12]
- Capacity: 16 passengers
- Length: 78 ft 5 in (23.90 m)
- Wingspan: 113 ft 0 in (34.44 m)
- Height: 28 ft 0 in (8.53 m)
- Wing area: 2,640 sq ft (245 m2)
- Empty weight: 20,460 lb (9,280 kg)
- Gross weight: 32,000 lb (14,515 kg)
- Powerplant: 4 × Bristol Jupiter XFBM 9-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, 555 hp (414 kW) each (rated at 4,000 ft (1,200 m)[12])
Performance
- Maximum speed: 137 mph (220 km/h, 119 kn) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) [12]
- Cruise speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)
- Range: 450 mi (720 km, 390 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 17,500 ft (5,300 m)
- Rate of climb: 840 ft/min (4.3 m/s)
See also
Related development
- Short Calcutta
- Short L.17 Scylla
References
- Notes
- ^ Cassidy, p.20ff.
- ^ Barnes and James, p.272ff.
- ^ Barnes and James p.226 and p.269.
- ^ Short Scylla
- ^ Barnes 1967, p. 270.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2007.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Image (on p.25) shows a Short Kent on the Sea of Galilee (in or after 1931) - ^ "Imperial Airways in Elounda / Mirabella Harbour / Corfos Bay". In-Crete.net. Archived from the original on 27 June 2006. Retrieved 4 February 2007.
- ^ Lieut. Richard Glen Wilson-Dickson and Thomas Alexander Cecil "Whimmie" Forbes.
- ^ https://www.planecrashinfo.com/1935/1935-37.htm Information w.r.t. the loss of "Sylvanus" at Brindisi, 1935.
- ^ Barnes and James, p.272.
- ^ Jackson 1988, p.140.
- ^ a b c Flight 19 August 1932, p. 781.
- Bibliography
- "The Short "Kent" Class: 162,000 Miles Flown Without Trouble". Flight. No. 19 August 1932. pp. 780–781.
- Barnes, C. H. (1967). Shorts Aircraft since 1900. London: Putnam.
- Barnes, C. H.; James, D. N. (1989). Shorts Aircraft since 1900. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-819-4.
- Cassidy, Brian (2004). "Flying Empires: Short 'C' class Empire flying boats" (PDF). Queens Parade Press. Retrieved 15 January 2007.
- Jackson, A.J. (1988). British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972:Volume III. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-818-6.
- "Century-of-Flight.net: Short Kent". publishenet. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2007.
- "British Aircraft Directory: Short Kent". British Aircraft Directory. Archived from the original on 4 May 2005. Retrieved 18 January 2007.